I'll have to think of some excuse. But what? Maybe uh- I'll say I ripped a claw and it hurts too badly to climb. Yeah, I'll pretend to fall off the tree as soon as I start. I'll- but Hillflower! Her chest swelled with trepidation.

I can't do that because Hillflower will examine my 'ripped claw...'!

"I hate sleeping curled up in a tree branch. Can't you guys protect us?" Cloverkit meowed, her gaze resting on Crescentpaw.

Thank you, Cloverkit! Make your eyes bigger and cuter and more pleading.

She smiled down at the little kit while panic was threatening to swell her throat shut. Crescentpaw tried to hide the look of previous horror that had been on her face.

"Yeah!" Oatkit came to stand beside his sister. "We don't wanna sleep in no stinky old tree!"

The apprentice's fur finally smoothed back down. She thought it was cute that Cloverkit already looked to her for protection. If she's the only cat here who thinks I'm more than just an apprentice, I'll take it. Some of her worry flitted away like a snake disappearing into a crevice.

Trufflefur looked embarrassed. "Sorry. That's where I've been sleeping so the wolves can't get me at night."

"Mmm- well..." Sootface gazed down at the much smaller Cloverkit. He looked like he wanted to be stern, with the same recurring frown set deep along his jaw.

"Actually, it might be a good idea. Cats sleeping in trees for days certainly isn't ideal nor is it healthy; as it alters our bodies natural resting positions." Hillflower said matter-of-factly.

"Skyclan has been sleeping in trees?"

Maybe that's why their dens were in better condition. The wolves didn't destroy them because there was no scent of cats inside. Crescentpaw waited for an answer, but Jadestar's responding mew was interrupted.

"I won't risk my kits by sleeping in a nest on the ground." Pepperpelt growled. Her grey-flecked ears were flat with repulsion. The sunfall shadows darkened her pelt to near-black.

"That's not what she meant, Pepperpelt," Jadestar interjected.

"We can sleep in the leaders den up on the Highledge. Trufflefur, can the wolves manage to climb up there?"

"Yes, they can. But if we post two guards at a time and switch places, everyone might be able to get part of a good night's sleep. I can help carry the kits up there."

Crescentpaw glanced at the two 'kits,' but said nothing.

"I think your medicine cat is right. If we're planning to travel across Windclan tomorrow then we should certainly get a sound rest."

Although Sootface initially disagreed, the cats found majority vote in favor of Jadestar's idea.

Crescentpaw felt like she was publicly embrassing herself when they all climbed the tumbledown rocks, but luckily the younger cats were having a rough time as well. Trufflefur slipped alongside her several times, while Rainpaw lost her footing and hissed before pulling herself back up.

"You know, I can hardly grasp why Riverclan sent an apprentice around the lake all by herself. Why didn't they send a warrior with you?" Trufflefur asked her once they all were comfortably situatuated out on the Highledge. His squirrel rested in a bushy heap beside him.

The tabby-and-white she-cat sat up straight before answering his question.

"I'm actually of warrior age; I just don't have a mentor to manage my final assessment yet. And- we haven't got a leader either..." she trailed off.

"Oh, sorry. I won't call you an apprentice again." Trufflefur surprised her by declaring.

"Thank you," the Riverclan she-cat meowed appreciatively. Pepperpelt had gone inside the empty leader's den with her kits, and she was now complaining about the falling-apart nests inside.

After the queen's cursing subsided Crescentpaw sighed. It looks like I won't have a nest to sleep in tonight. Not that there isn't worse things..

Up on the Thunderclan Highledge, Crescentpaw looked into the night sky above her. She was searching for a glimpse of Silverpelt shimmering into view.

I might as well tell them.

"Riverclan didn't send me. I... kind of sent myself."

"Well, I won't condone you for such an ill-thought out idea. I'll let your clanmates do it when you return to camp." Jadestar compelled, looking over her shoulder. Her long back was swathed in shadows from the cliff's jutting overhang of craggy stone.

"You're lucky you survived this long." Sootface's meow was deep-throated from his perch out on the edge. Moon-rays threw light onto his ashen grey pelt, turning it silver in places. "A stray wolf out on the territories could've attacked you at dawn."

Like I don't know that!

"Speaking of, let me check that wound on your foreleg, Sootface." The tomcat looked back at Hillflower with baleful amber eyes.

"Oh come on now. It's not the end of the world." She rose to her paws and padded over, then began fussing with his foreleg.

"It needs a new poultice of horsetail and alder bark. Alder bark would help the swelling from over-exertion, horsetail to further prevent infection... Oh my, all of the marigold poultice has been wiped off...!" the pale tabby she-cat's voice was a resounding murmur as she carried on working.

"Trufflefur, have you got any injuries?" The medicine cat soon meowed.

"Well, come to think of it... there's a huge tooth gash behind my left ear. It stings real bad when I try to clean it." The tomcats lapis-colored eyes reflected the moon above them.

"I see," the medicine cat nodded enthusiastically. "Any other injuries?" She grabbed his face with two forepaws, gently tilting the tom's head so she could examine it. After Trufflefur shook his head, Hillflower narrowed her eyes and peered closer at his wound.

"Just that one. It was an unlucky blow. I was leaping up a tree with a thrush in my jaws and I tripped over its wing. The wolf caught me on the back of the head before I could leap up again."

Sootface snickered. "Should've left the bird rather than risking your life."

The hazel-brown tom tossed him a look, eyes narrowed but uncertain. He didn't say anything to defend himself.

"Well, it's deep but not fatal." The she-cat clarified. "As long as it doesn't get infected then you should be fine. You got very lucky it wasn't deeper." Hillflower sat down behind him and began rummaging through her herb-bundle, poking her paws into the remaining supplies.

"Hah, yeah." Trufflefur sounded unconcerned. The tomcat then twisted around, searching Crescentpaw's gaze.

"Seeing the other clans has reminded me of the one that left me behind. Crescentpaw, do you really think there's hope left for all the clans? Even the ones who have..." his face crumpled. The tomcat seemed to be searching for a certain word until he gave up and his expression fell even further.

"Given up?" Rainpaw affirmed for him.

"You should be in the den. Go and get some sleep for tomorrow," Jadestar scolded her daughter, leering at the she-cat until Rainpaw rose and retreated.

"Uh- well, yeah." Crescentpaw let more confidence creep into her voice as she went on.

"Sure there is. Even for Shadowclan and Thunderclan. Starclan will find a way to restore what remains, I'm sure of it." A beetle crawled up to her resting elbow, and Crescentpaw nudged it away. "They'll send us to bring back Thunderclan eventually- and they'll find a new leader for Shadowclan."

Crescentpaw looked over at Trufflefur innocently. I sure hope it doesn't sound like I'm making all of this up.

Truthfully, I don't know what Starclan will do. Her closest guess was that they'd relocate the clans.

Trufflefur began to nod in agreement. He curled his tail up, legs splayed out in front of him. Crescentpaw's belly rested against the cool, heavy stone beneath them.

"It sounds like a plan to me. Let's just hope that it plays out that way." He sounded accepting rather than dismissive. The broad-shouldered tom shifted to a position where he was tensed to stand up.

"Are you hungry?"

"Uh- no..." was Crescentpaw's first instinct. There's only one squirrel and there's kits in the den...

The other cats looked suprised at Trufflefur's offer. Crescentpaw felt her fur heat up with embarrassment.

"Sure you are," the tom said, sounding incredulous. "You've traveled halfway across the territories in one day."

"How do we know she hasn't eaten on her way here? Or even right before she left Riverclan?" Sootface muttered ill-temperedly and then yawned.

Trufflefur rolled his eyes, facing the apprentice with respect in his gaze.

"Because she had to sneak away from her clan in order to come. And keep her eyes pricked for wolves along the way."

He rose to his paws picked up his squirrel, then padded over and dropped it in front of her.

"They hardly ever hunt during the day! Especially in Greenleaf with Twolegs about," Sootface argued, but every cat ignored him.

"Oh- thank you. But I don't need the whole thing. I'll offer Pepperpelt some for her kits first," Crescentpaw glanced back into the cave's black abyss.

Jadestar nodded, while Trufflefur quivered his whiskers. He sat down in front of her rather than retreating to his previous spot.

"I think you should eat your portion first. Kits forget that they're sharing half the time."

Crescentpaw blinked, then slowly nodded in agreement.

"We can take the first watch while you all rest," Trufflefur meowed over at Jadestar, Hillflower and Sootface.

The leader flicked her tail and retreated. Sootface grimaced over at them before he followed.

"Keep your ears pricked and your eyes wide. Look around the top edges of the hollow, that's where they'll be appearing first." The Skyclan deputy's  meow was husky and commanding amid the tenebrous covering of night.

"We know how to stand guard, thanks." Trufflefur said contemptuously, his blue eyes piercing Sootface's amber ones. The two toms eventually broke gazes, and Sootface crossed the bare stretch of ground toward the den.

The smoky tom lashed his tail crossly, disappearing into the swathe of shadows without another word.

Thank you for reading!!! 🌒💛

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Trufflefur